Beckman is runner-up in Brainerd; moves into third in points
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 17 of 23 29th annual NHRA Nationals Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway Aug. 13-15, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net BECKMAN IS RUNNER-UP IN BRAINERD; MOVES INTO THIRD IN POINTS BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 15, 2010) - Jack Beckman posted the quickest Funny Car elapsed time of the weekend (4.057 seconds), set top speed (306.33 mph), advanced to his fourth final round of the year, but missed collecting his second event title of the season at the 29th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway today. After qualifying No. 6 in the Freightliner Trucks Dodge, Beckman ripped through the field with low ET in each of the initial three rounds, first defeating Del Worsham with the quickest lap of the weekend, a 4.057-second elapsed time at 304.32 mph, then Robert Hight with a 4.080/306.33, for top speed of the meet, and Jim Head with a 4.089/300.66. In the final round, Beckman faced final-round first-timer Bob Bode and, in a surprise upset, Bode scored the win when Beckman smoked the tires early in the run. Bode crossed the finish stripe in 4.248 seconds at 253.66 mph, while Beckman coasted to a losing 8.338/86.32 pass. "It's such a frustrating day," said Beckman, who moved into third place in the standings. "We had a dominant car this weekend, but you could make the same argument when we won Phoenix (his solo win of the 2010 season). We beat John Force in the final who had the dominant car. "We were low (elapsed time) of every round, the car looked safe every round. We thought we were going to be a little more conservative in the final so we wouldn't take a chance. We're looking at the data to see what happened. It was so early in the run that it's not a tune-up issue. It's almost like a parts malfunction or a race-track issue. "That was not even close to what we were expecting out of that run. I'm not saying we thought the trophy was ours, but we had the race car to get it. "We moved up to third; that's the silver lining. We're resetting the points at the next race," he added, referring to the Countdown to 1 playoffs which begin at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day in Indianapolis for the top 10 in points for the final six races. "We got great data out here. We really wished we could have put the Freightliner Trucks car in the winner's circle today. "Right now we're going rounds and it's 'race wins' in the regular season and it's 'round wins' in the Countdown. So, we can runner-up our way into the championship if we need to. But I think we have a good enough hot rod right now. They're going to be looking at us real sharp the next six races." UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS (Countdown points in parentheses) 1. John Force, 1250 (2110) 2. Robert Hight, 1249 (2080) 3. Jack Beckman, 1155 runner-up today (2070) 4. Matt Hagan, 1136 (2060) 5. Ron Capps, 1048 (2050) 6. Tim Wilkerson, 1035 (2040) 7. Bob Tasca III, 1016 (2030) 8. Ashley Force Hood, 984 (2020) 9. Del Worsham, 929 (2010) 10. Tony Pedregon, 764 (2000) ***